Students ask Legislators for keg law

Over 50 southeast Iowa high school students are at the statehouse today (Tuesday), asking lawmakers to pass a bill that would make retailers write down the numbers on beer kegs, and the name of the person who bought the beer. Matt Thornton of Sigourney is one of the students who lobbied legislators. “Tag the keg. It’s simple, easy. Do it,” he says. Thornton has been arrested for drunken driving, and he contends the bill will help curb underage drinking. “No one else should have to go through what I went through. It’s horrible.” Tricia Mann of Sigourney was also at the capitol, asking legislators to consider the bill. “I think this is really important and they should at least give it a look,” Mann says. Susan Conroy, a volunteer from Sigourney, led a statehouse pep rally for the students. “The states surrounding Iowa…have a keg law, so I have to ask ‘Why Not Iowa’?” Conroy said. Keokuk County has a local ordinance requiring beer keg registration. Story County’s Board of Supervisors is in the process of finalizing a beer keg registration system for their county.